STEPHENVILLE – The statewide search for seeds from native Texas grasses and forbs is expected to expand to East Texas this year, according to Texas A&M researchers.

Forrest Smith, director of the Texas Native Seeds project for the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, said the interest in re-establishment of native grasses and forbs is growing, and research initiatives are expanding.

“The vision (of Texas Native Seeds) is to find and collect important native plant species and increase them to meet demand for restoration,” he said.

Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service has provided staff expertise, in-kind access to facilities, field space and equipment at Texas A&M Research and Extension Centers in Corpus Christi and Stephenville in support of that mission.

Smith said the project started in 2000 in South Texas after private landowners with major holdings approached the institute looking for ways to re-establish native grasses and forbs, restoring regional ecosystems that support native wildlife.

Researchers are seeking to increase a diverse seed mix of native species to provide to seed companies for production, Smith said. The native seeds would be for commercial production to keep up with demand. They would be maintained in a species database available for future research.

Seeds are collected from specific locations, and information, such as soil type and adjacent species, are recorded, Smith said. Researchers collected around 1,200 native plant species in West Texas and around 750 species in Central Texas in the past few years, on top of over 2,000 seed collections made since 2001 in South Texas.

Similar efforts in other parts of the state will be undertaken in 2018, he said.

The native plants are being grown and evaluated for specific traits including survivability, germination, aesthetics and seed production, Smith said. Seed mixes and individual seed varieties will be certified and released through Texas Foundation Seed Service once the evaluation process is complete.

The initial project, South Texas Natives, received a boost of funding in 2010 when the Texas Department of Transportation provided a substantial grant to facilitate expansion of the effort into Central and West Texas, Smith said. Landowners and industry, especially utility and petroleum companies, also support and collaborate with the effort.

TxDOT views native grasses and forbs, especially low-growing species, as a way to reduce roadside maintenance costs, such as mowing, compared to exotic species that have been introduced, such as Coastal Bermuda grass or johnsongrass.

“They saw it as a way to potentially reduce the number of times they have to mow each year and to sustain diversity,” he said.

TxDOT has been able to change their seeding specifications for rural areas in two-thirds of Texas because of the program, Smith said.

Dr. Jim Muir, AgriLife Research grassland ecologist, Stephenville, said there is a growing movement among landowners and within industry to reintroduce native plant species in order to re-establish ecosystems that have been disturbed by invasive species.

“We’re seeing more people who own land or who are returning to the homes they grew up in who aren’t involved in agriculture or interested in producing one more calf on Bermuda grass,” he said. “They’re concerned about returning pastures back to native grasses to get plants that attract and support native wildlife, such as songbirds, deer, quail and pollinators."

Little bluestem evaluation plots at the Knox City Plant Materials Center in Knox City. Little bluestem is a common native grass that grows from Canada to Mexico.(Photo: Randy Bow/Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service)